There’s probably nothing better than the mountains in summer. The days are hot and sunny and the nights are cool with that perfect temperature for sleeping in a tent. Lake Tahoe really comes alive in the summer months with various outdoor sports and special events. Even though this list could go on ad infinitum, we narrowed it down to the top 50.

1. Kayak to Fannette Island, hike up to the tea house and jump off the rocks into Emerald Bay

2. Hit a few golf balls into the water at Edgewood and then go snorkeling to find them again

3. Get an all-over tan on the nude beach at Secret Cove.

4. Hike to the top of Mount Tallac for views of Fallen Leaf Lake, Cascade Lake, Desolation Wilderness, and South Lake Tahoe.

5. Bring a picnic for the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’s production of As You Like It at Sand Harbor.

6. Grab a beer and chat with the locals at the Genoa Bar (Nevada’s Oldest Thirst Parlor) in Genoa.

7. Hike from Emerald Bay to Lester Beach on the Rubicon Trail.

8. Paddleboard from King’s Beach to Crystal Bay on the North Shore.

9. Find your balance at the Wanderlust yoga festival at Squaw Valley.

10. Go kayak or boat camping at the Emerald Bay Boat-In Campground.

11. Go Euro and get a crepe at Coffeebar in Truckee or a gelato at Where We Met café in Tahoma.

12. Fly along the water on a jet ski from Tahoe Sports.

13. Hike to the top of Mount Rose and a get a view of Reno/Sparks, Carson City, Washoe Valley, and all of Lake Tahoe.

Tours of the beautiful HGTV Dream Home 2014 at Schaffer’s Mill will begin Thursday, January 9th and continue every Thursday-Sunday from 10am to 4pm through February 16th.Tickets to tour the home are $20 each and available online at www.schaffersmill.com/hgtvdreamhome. All proceeds from tour ticket sales will benefit the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation.

Schaffer’s Mill, a 475-acre, 400-homesite gated community and private club located just east of Truckee, was chosen by HGTV as the location for the 2014 HGTV Dream Home this past summer. HGTV built and decorated the beautiful 3,200-plus square foot cabin at Schaffer’s Mill. The Dream Home was revealed on HGTV on Wednesday, January 1st during a one-hour show. The network will then give the home away to one lucky winner through its HGTV Dream Home 2014 Giveaway.

“I recently toured the Dream Home and it is amazing,” said John Marlin, Managing Partner for Schaffer’s Mill. “If you have an opportunity to tour the home, I highly recommend it. Not only, is the architecture and decorating incredible, but the proceeds from tour ticket sales benefit a local Tahoe/Truckee charity — the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation.”

The HGTV Dream Home 2014 was designed by Truckee-based Ward-Young Architects and was built by Tanamera Builders. Blending traditional and contemporary forms, the home is designed with two wings: a living wing and a bedroom wing with large expanses of glass and sliding door systems to create transparent and direct connection between indoors and outdoors.

Past locations for the HGTV Dream Home include Kiawah Island, South Carolina in 2013, Park City, Utah in 2012, Stowe, Vermont in 2011 and Sandia Park, New Mexico in 2010. The 2013 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway drew over 77 million entries, with the grand prize of a Kiawah Island HGTV Dream Home, a brand-new GMC Acadia Denali and $500,000 cash.

The Schaffer’s Mill community features home sites from the $200’s, Mountain Lodges from the $900’s and estate homes and luxury cabins from $1.2 million. Open since 2008 and named after the “Father of Truckee,” George Schaffer, Schaffer’s Mill pays homage to Mr. Schaffer, his ideals and vision.

Schaffer’s Mill is a private Golf and Lake Club. Memberships are available to those living inside or outside of the community. A Schaffer’s Mill Golf & Lake Club membership includes:

Access to the award winning John Harbottle and Johnny Miller golf course

Use of the North Village Clubhouse with fine dining, private locker rooms, resort-style pool and an expansive fitness facility

New Martis Partners acquired the former Timilick property in January 2011 and immediately set about to rebrand and reposition the community. New Martis Partners is a Dallas-based real estate development firm specializing in the creation of beautiful, family-oriented communities. The firm’s multi-disciplined leaders have more than 75 years of experience behind their vision to create communities with lasting value.

Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation is the philanthropic incubator for innovative and creative advancement of Tahoe Forest Health System. Funds from ticket sales will support the Wellness Neighborhood programs and their mission to fund community initiatives. The Wellness Neighborhood programs reflect their partnerships with community based organizations. Their goals are to increase access to health care services, strengthen our ability to focus on important health care issues, and to optimize our community’s health.

“It’s validation that this market is where people want to be,” said Jim Matoska, president of sales and marketing for Schaffer’s Mill. “You can’t just replace properties like Schaffer’s Mill or areas like Lake Tahoe, which are just so unique. HGTV recognized that and did their research. It certainly benefits the whole area. More people are becoming aware of what we already know — that Tahoe is a unique lifestyle.”

It is the 18th year of the cable network giveaway, which last year garnered more than 80 million entries for the Kiawah Island, S.C., giveaway home. Previous homes have been located across the county in Sonoma, Calif.; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Camden, Maine; and three in Florida.

“I have been responsible for scouting the location for every HGTV dream home since the beginning,” said Jack Thomasson, HGTV house planner. “I really scour the country each year for the place that I feel is our next-best location.”

He has scouted the Lake Tahoe area several times but could never find the right location, until this spring when he heard about Schaffer’s Mill.

It is less than 20 miles from popular Lake Tahoe attractions and have several ski resorts less than 30 minutes away. USA Today named Lake Tahoe one of the best lakes in the United States in 2012.

Thomasson said he liked Schaffer’s Mill’s philosophy of responsible growth and connection it made to the best parts of the region such as the lake and ski resorts.

For single family homes SOLD in the Truckee / Lake Tahoe area, total active declined 6% from January to February, and actual sales prices were up, both average prices (+10%) as well as median prices (+24%). For condos/townhomes, total active inventory declined by 4%, average sales prices were down 12%, but median prices were up 8%. Much of the limited, new inventory coming on the market is snatched up quickly as there is a pent-up demand from buyers who have missed out in previous multiple-offer situations. We anticipate this will continue for at least the next couple of months as we don’t expect any substantial increase in inventory until the winter ski season is over and inventory that has been on ski leases possibly comes on the market.

Market Profile Report – Truckee/Lake Tahoe

I hope this information is useful to you in your decision making process for buying or selling a home. Please contact me for more market statistics or market information.

Million Dollar Home Sales in Lahontan in Truckee CA are on a record setting pace!

In the resort community of Lahontan in Truckee CA, home sales are surpassing years past in the first month of 2013. An average of 1 house a month has sold in the community for the last 7 years. In the month of January of 2013 we have 2 properties that have sold and 5 the will close by the 15th of February.

Lahontan Home Sales from 2005 - 2012

Prices have been low along with sales in the high-end real estate market. But things are changing fast, both price and sale are on the rise in all of the Truckee / Lake Tahoe Million Dollar Markets.

Here is a CMA in Lahontan on sales starting the 1st of the year with 2 sold, 5 Pending and only 9 Actively For Sale properties. Low inventory with high demand is creating a Sellers Market.

As a board member of our local (Truckee) Excellence in Education Foundation, I’d like to make you aware of a couple of great offers:

Our Skiing for Schools partnership with local ski areas has one last special thru the end of this year’s ski season (see attached). The purchase of a $35 lift ticket is valid any one day at either Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows from April 15th thru the end of the season (including weekends!). If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to purchase the ticket(s) for you and you can just bring me a reimbursement check or cash and pick up the ticket(s) here at Dickson in Truckee.

Our Golfing for Schools partnership offers a golf card (transferable) good for one round at each of the following golf courses, for 18 holes of play: Coyote Moon, Gray’s Crossing, Northstar, Old Brockway, Old Greenwood, Resort at Squaw Creek, Tahoe City and Tahoe Donner. The cost of the card has been drastically reduced this year to only $295! If any of you have ever played any of these courses, you’ll realize what an incredible deal this is. Carts are not included (most courses do allow walking), and some retrictions apply. The golf cards (limited to a total of 275) will be available for sale starting May 5th.